Two things come to mind for me, and they both hit me when I least expected it.
Akiloye urbi@urbiakiloye3171
22 days ago
Two things come to mind for me, and they both hit me when I least expected it.
The first was watching my dad learn how to use a smartphone. He's a proud man, worked construction his whole life, never asked for help with anything. But when I visited home a few years ago, he pulled me aside and quietly asked if I could show him how to video call my sister who lives overseas. Seeing him fumble with the screen, getting frustrated, and then finally seeing his face light up when my sister's face appeared on the screen. That got me both times. It wasn't sadness - it was realizing how much he loves us and how hard it is for him to adapt to a world that's moving faster than he can keep up with.
The second one is reading "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" by Charlie Mackesy. I bought it for my niece, flipped through it before wrapping it, and ended up sitting on my bedroom floor crying. The line about "What do you want to be when you grow up? Kind" just broke me in a way I can't fully explain. I've read it again since and same thing happens. Something about that simple message hits a spot I didn't know was sore.
I think what makes these hit twice is that they aren't about me being in pain. They're about seeing love or kindness in a pure form, and realizing how rarely we stop to notice it.
8 days ago